Meredith Schor: My Publishing Journey

With seven published books already under my belt, my debut novel was released on June 7th. 

I can sense the confusion. Like the author who releases her debut adult romance after publishing several young adult novels or a multi-published author’s debut under a pen name, As Seen on TV is my trade paperback debut—in other words, it is my inaugural advance-paying, print distribution release with a major publisher. In even simpler terms, it is the first time my book will be available in bookstores. 

My dream was always to see my books on the shelves of Barnes & Noble alongside Sophie Kinsella and Emily Giffin, my comp authors when I queried my first “actual” completed novel in 2009. Unfortunately, I was told by agents across the board that “chick lit” was dead. How could this be? I ran a chick lit book club and my friends all loved light, funny novels about young women finding their way in life and love. I knew there was an audience for my writing, and if New York didn’t want me, someone else would. 

And they did! I signed with a digital-only small press and Just Friends with Benefits was released in 2010. The book went on to receive positive reviews and…wait for it…little-to-no sales, likely because it was priced too high for a debut at a tiny imprint that offered no marketing support. I skipped querying my second novel and published with a hybrid publisher. Finally, I saw results, thanks to more marketing support, competitive pricing, and successful co-promotion with several other small press and self-published authors who wrote in the genre.

I got my rights back to Just Friends with Benefits, published it with this new company, and watched it become an instant Amazon bestseller, selling upwards of fifty Kindle copies a day for months at a time. I published another three books with this company before it closed its doors, then sold my backlist and two more books to a small boutique publisher that specialized in cozy mystery and chick lit. 

Despite ups and downs and periods of uncertainty caused by switching publishers, I was content with my success as an author. I had a solid group of loyal readers and didn’t need to see my book in stores or any of the other big things that came with publishing at a traditional house. 

But then, rather than growing my audience with each book, my sales steadily declined. I was earning fewer royalties for seven books than I used to earn with only three. Why was this happening? My guess? My small-press books couldn’t stand out among A) the influx of indie books self-published by talented authors with brilliant marketing minds and the freedom to price their books as they liked and B) the increase of romcoms backed by New York publishers, thanks to the success of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.

I began to look at this new influx of traditional romcom authors like Abby Jimenez, Jen Deluca, Kerry Winfrey, and Alexa Martin with a mix of admiration and longing to have what they had. All those dreams I’d put to bed, about seeing my book in a bookstore, reaching a broader audience, media attention etc. awakened with a vengeance. I promised myself my next release would be big, starting with getting an agent. Romantic comedy was far from dead, and I’d grown so much as an author since my first book. This was my time. 

I worked on my novel, a second chance romantic comedy, for over a year. It went through several critique partners/beta readers and countless rounds of revisions. I pulled out clumps of hair writing and re-writing my query letter and synopsis. When it was time to query, I signed with my terrific agent after only two months in the trenches. I was thrilled. The dream was so close! After another three rounds of revisions with my agent, we went out on submission with it in November 2019.

Wah-Wah. It didn’t sell. Editors liked it but didn’t love it. The premise didn’t stand out in the market. I was devastated but held firmly to my dream of a traditional publishing deal and decided to shelve that book. Lockdown had just begun, I was halfway through my second draft of As Seen on TV, and I put everything into it. 

My agent read it overnight, loved it, and it went out on submission the following week. The next day, an editor followed me on Twitter. I died, and a few minutes later my agent told me she wanted to have a call. I had calls with three editors within seven days, and the following week As Seen on TV sold at auction to Grand Central Publishing/Forever in a two-book deal. 

I don’t regret any of the publishing choices I’ve made up to now because it brought me here. Will publishing with the Big 5 (4?) live up to the dream? Only time will tell. On the plus side, I’ve already received attention from influencers and media in ways I never have before. I have a marketing and sales team behind me for the first time, and I finally saw my book in brick and mortar stores. On the flip side, there’s added pressure, imposed both by myself and the industry. They say the only thing harder than getting traditionally published is staying traditionally published. But those worries are for another day. Today, I celebrate.

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A lifelong daydreamer, Meredith Schorr fueled her passion for writing everything from restaurant reviews, original birthday cards, and even work-related emails into a career penning romantic comedies. When she’s not writing books filled with grand gestures and hard-earned happily-ever-afters or working as a trademark paralegal, she’s most often reading, running, or watching TV…for research, obviously.

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AS SEEN ON TV

Fans of the Hallmark Channel and Gilmore Girls will adore this delightful rom‑com about a city girl who goes in search of small-town happiness, only to discover life—and love—are nothing like the TV movies.

Emerging journalist Adina Gellar is done with dating in New York City. If she’s learned anything from made-for-TV romance movies, it’s that she’ll find love in a small town—the kind with harvest festivals, delightful but quirky characters, and scores of delectable single dudes. So when a big-city real estate magnate targets tiny Pleasant Hollow for development, Adi knows she’s found the perfect story—one that will earn her a position at a coveted online magazine, so she can finally start adulting for real . . . and maybe even find her dream man in the process.

Only Pleasant Hollow isn’t exactly “pleasant.” There’s no charming bakery, no quaint seasonal festivals, and the residents are more ambivalent than welcoming. The only upside is Finn Adams, who’s more mouthwatering than the homemade cherry pie Adi can’t seem to find—even if he does work for the company she’d hoped to bring down. Suddenly Adi has to wonder if maybe TV got it all wrong after all. But will following her heart mean losing her chance to break into the big time?

BUY HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing